The master and servant dialectics of sex and power

Antonio 2022-01-20 08:01:41

Both Pinter and Losser are artists who are very sensitive to the power, class status, and money in interpersonal relationships. The character structure of the classic movie "The Servant" they collaborated is very reminiscent of "Apple" because they both involved the relationship of desire between two pairs of men and women based on power and status.

However, it is obvious that the concerns of the two films are completely different. The focus of the latter falls on the multiple pressures that Apple endures, which reflect realistic issues and typical female perspectives. For Pinter and Lose, Vera in a similar character structure is basically a narrative prop. She is an important part of Tony and Barrett's realization of the inversion of master and servant. Pinter enclosed the narrative space in Barrett’s bourgeois apartment full of jazz music and classical paintings. Some of the real extensions of the character to the apartment other than the character’s class and social background are unclear. This makes the whole narrative appear very abstract. Especially in the narrative process, they often use black and white still life compositions that are close to oil paintings, and often compare figures with statues in the room (especially in the scene where Tony and Susan visit friends, the characters are all still It forms a special relationship with the human statue in the living room. This shows Losser’s attitude towards the typical bourgeois life circle, and at the same time provides a reverse motivation for Tony to seek a change.) Correspondingly, The exquisite circular frame mirror that often enters the composition reminds us of the famous oil painting by Van Eyck. These visual forms give us a deeper and broader attention to the master-servant relationship between Tony and Barrett.

Of course, the more direct prototype of the master-servant relationship between them should be Hegel's analysis of the master-servant relationship, but in this film, this relationship brings with it the jazz and sexual openness of the 1960s. If the hidden clue of homosexuality between Tony and Barrett is more clear, then the narrative process of the entire film will be smoother, which is also the most fundamental point for Barrett to be able to completely control Tony in the end. So at this point, Susan's role position is the most embarrassing in the film. She is Tony's fiancée, serving as the most rigid and typical incarnation of tradition. What can she do after Barrett takes control of Tony? In a sense, her kiss with Barrett at the end is indeed the most lethal scene, although her appearance and every move are so abrupt and untimely.

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Extended Reading
  • Eliezer 2022-03-27 09:01:19

    magnet:?xt=urn:btih:5526bab912220feb695001c62e4bd488bd113e52&dn=The.Servant.1963.1080p.BluRay.x264.DTS-FGT

  • Loyce 2022-03-23 09:03:09

    The composition is too powerful, mirrors, stairs, railings, faucets, chairs, hidden intrigue, but also deep and shallow sexual interest. The change of master and servant is not achieved overnight, but it is like a snowball that rolls bigger and bigger, and the more it rolls, the more reasonable it is. Starting from pouring that glass of brandy, the situation is settled.

The Servant quotes

  • Hugo Barrett: I'll tell you what I am. I'm a gentleman's gentleman, and you're no bloody GENTLEMAN!

  • Hugo Barrett: [to one of the prostitutes blocking his way in the phone booth] Get out of my way, you fucking bitch!